The Long Road To Here
by BuffyAnne
Summary: The car ride home is always longer when you're not speaking to each other.


**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own anything. _Glee_ belongs to Ryan Murphy and _FOX_.

******AN 1: **This is my first story in a long time, and my first for _Glee_. I'm a bit nervous about posting. It has been awhile since I have written creatively and, with all the memos I have to write for work, I'm a little rusty. Please let me know what you think!

**AN 2: **Flashbacks are in _italics_.

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Four and a half hours. That's how long they had been in the car. It was also how long it had been since they had stopped speaking to each other. Or more accurately, since Rachel had stopped speaking to Will.

They were more than halfway through Pennsylvania, on their way to Ohio to spend the holidays with family. The snow had been slowly but steadily falling. After a mild month, it was finally beginning to feel like Christmas.

Rachel was sitting in the passenger seat looking out the window at the falling snow with tears in her eyes. Will, who was driving, kept looking over at Rachel. He hated seeing her upset but he wasn't even sure what he had done. He wasn't used to this Rachel. She would always tell him what was wrong, what she was feeling. Since they began dating, he didn't think they had gone an hour without some form of communication. Focusing on the road, they continued down the straight, endless highway, both thinking about the other and their relationship.

XXX

_After graduation, Rachel went to New York, where she began her college career at NYU's Tisch School. But it turned out that college wasn't for her. At first, it was a hard transition, but she still had Finn to talk to; they were still dating after being apart most of their junior and senior years. When things ended after her first year at college, she found the second year even harder to deal with. She didn't really have any friends, and all she could think about was getting out there and auditioning. So she left school and moved into a tiny studio apartment. _

_It turned out to be the best decision for her. Shortly after leaving, Rachel got a role in an off-off-Broadway show. It was small and not very good, but she made friends and connections and things started to feel better. She started to feel like she belonged there. _

_About a year later, Rachel got her big break, starring in an original musical off-Broadway. And he came opening weekend, on a cold January night. She wasn't surprised; they had grown close those three years she was in glee club. He even told her a week before graduation, when she stopped by his office panicking about not being good enough, that he knew would be sitting in the audience during her first performance. _

_They had kept in touch through email but she was still a little shocked that opening night, as she was exiting the theatre, to see Will standing there. She ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck, whispering that she was so glad he was there. He told her that she was wonderful and that he always knew she would make it. _

_Their relationship didn't start then. They went for drinks that night and caught up on each other's lives. Will listened as Rachel talked excitedly about her life in New York. He could see it in her eyes how much she belonged there. He was so proud. He no longer felt like her teacher, and, as the student, she had long ago surpassed him. Now he felt like they were equals, like they were friends. _

_They met again for lunch the next day before he had to head back to Ohio. And though nothing was said, their relationship felt different, new. They parted that day, with promises to talk more._

XXX

Rachel stared out the window at the falling snow on the verge of crying. The snow was beginning to accumulate all around them. It looked like a winter wonderland, but all Rachel could think about was how they had gotten to this point.

The morning had started out great. They finished wrapping presents and packing the night before, and all they needed to do was pack up the car and set out on their ten hour drive to Lima. She made them breakfast, and they sat at the table talking about the many things they had planned for the week they would be home, including holiday parties and a glee reunion.

The glee reunion. That's when things went from good to bad. It was the first time the group would see them as a couple, and Rachel was a little nervous about their reaction. She was talking about it with Will when he made the comment the left her upset. Rachel could tell that Will didn't realize what he said because he made no move to correct himself or to reassure her. And truth be told, maybe Rachel was reading too much into things. Maybe he didn't mean it the way he said it. But suddenly, she was afraid that Will would be willing to give this up more easily than she could.

So there she was, in the car, overanalyzing everything. It's what she always did when she was upset. And it was usually the overanalyzing that would get her into trouble. It was silly, really, that she would even think Will wasn't fully committed to this relationship. She had a mountain of evidence proving that he was. The more she thought about it, the more she didn't know why it bothered her so much. But it did. And here they were, sitting in silence, waiting for the other to speak, to say anything.

XXX

_For Rachel, the relationship changed slowly. After Will came to see her __show, they talked almost every day. Sometimes it was by phone; sometimes it was just a quick email. Regardless of the type of communication, Rachel couldn't wait to talk to him. He was becoming her best friend. She could go to him for everything. This, of course, was not really new for them. She always felt like he was there to listen but now she knew he wanted to listen and wasn't just obligated to because he was her teacher. He let her rant and cry and laugh. He was always there for her._

_It was four months after seeing him again when she realized what it was she was feeling. They were talking, about nothing special, when it hit her and she interrupted him, blurting out, "I miss you." Will stopped talking, and they sat there in a tense silence. Rachel began panicking, thinking that maybe she had read this all wrong, trying to think of a way to walk it back, when Will finally spoke. His voice was quiet and rough, and she could hear every emotion, "I miss you too, Rach." They didn't discuss it that night, but their conversations after that changed a bit. It was if there was an unspoken agreement that their relationship was more than friendship. _

_She went home that July for a long weekend. She saw her dads and some of the old gang but really she was there for him. He took her out to dinner and afterward they went back to his apartment to watch a movie. They sat there talking, the movie becoming white noise as he told her that he was falling in love. She returned the sentiment, kissing him for the first time. Neither expected it to go farther but as soon as their lips met neither could hold back. Will pulled her close, one hand on the small of her back, the other tangled in her hair. Rachel had both arms wrapped around his neck, trying to get as close to him as possible. Before either realized it, Rachel was on Will's lap, both naked except for her panties and his boxers. Will wrapped his arms around her waist, and with her legs wrapped around him, he carried her to the bedroom._

XXX

Will stared ahead at the endless road in front of him. He had given up hours ago on trying figure out why Rachel was upset like she was. He didn't know how to fix it, instead, choosing to believe that this would blow over, and that they would be back to normal soon. He used to be much better at this.

Five years ago, when she was still his student, he had gotten so good at anticipating her moods and her diva-moments. He had gotten so good at appeasing her and fixing whatever was wrong, or making her believe that it was a good thing she didn't get the solo she wanted. He had gotten so good at reading her. Then she graduated, and he didn't see her for years. She was different but still the same. She still wore every emotion on her face, and he could still anticipate when she was upset. But it was different because she was rarely upset with him. He could comfort her and let her rant and give advice and it felt good because he was no longer the reason for her anger or sadness. But then they started dating and everything changed. There was a whole new set of emotions he struggled to deal with. And all of a sudden, he could no longer fix things as easily as he had once been able to.

Will shook those thoughts away, choosing instead to focus on the ring in his pocket. He knew he was going to propose this week. He didn't know when or how, he just knew at some point this week things would be perfect and he would ask her.

But for now, he had to make sure they got to their destination safely. Focusing again on the road, he noticed Rachel was squirming in her seat. Laughing to himself, he decided to stop at the next rest area.

XXX

_The decision to move to New York was much easier than Will had anticipated. In fact, he hadn't thought much about it at all. One day he just knew that that was where he should to be. With Rachel. _

_After the weekend Rachel visited, it was hard to be away from her. They talked all the time, for hours, but neither was able to find the time to visit the other. Rachel had eight shows a week, and he had his classes and glee. He wanted them to have a real chance. So one day, he began looking for a job in New York. He didn't want to tell her until he found something and a part of him was worried that maybe he was putting too much into this relationship, that maybe she didn't feel quite the same way. _

_That winter, Will received an offer from the High School of the Performing Arts, where he would be teaching Spanish, voice and show choir. It was the perfect job for him. When he finally told Rachel, any doubts he had disappeared with her reaction. He was starting the following school year, which meant six months before he could move to New York, and he couldn't wait to be with her every day. _

_When they were finally together, it was perfect. Their relationship grew even stronger, and despite having been with Terri for 15 years and Emma for two, Will had never been so happy._

XXX

Will pulled into the rest stop, parking as close as he could to the building. Rachel jumped out of the car, carefully running towards the restrooms. Will stared at her as she disappeared into the building, sighing and running his hand through his hair. He didn't know how much longer he could handle them not speaking to each other. It was making the 10 hour drive much longer and really he just missed her voice. Even if they weren't talking, she was usually singing along to the radio. Many times, he would join her.

Getting out of the car, Will walked over to the vending machines, getting a coke for himself and a tea for Rachel. He started back to the car when the Kit Kat caught his eye. It was Rachel's favorite, and he decided it wouldn't hurt the situation to get it for her. Besides, she always shared it with him. It would be a good indicator of how upset she really was. If she split it with him, things would be fine; if not, then maybe things were worse than he thought.

He walked back to the car, putting the tea and Kit Kat on Rachel's seat. Standing by the car, he looked out towards the highway, the snow starting to come down a little faster. He was thinking about the rest of the drive, hoping for a break in the snowfall before the roads got worse, when he suddenly felt something hit his back. Her laughter was not far behind. He turned around to see Rachel standing there in the middle of the snow laughing. He had never seen her look more beautiful, her wavy hair covered by snowflakes, her face slightly red from the cold. He knew things were okay now. Whatever was going on with her earlier was over.

She stared at him before bending down to gather more snow, but Will beat her to it, pelting her with a snowball she didn't see coming. She squealed as it hit her before throwing hers back at him. Laughing, he started to chase her through the snow, each trying to hit the other while laughing uncontrollably.

They ended up lying in the snow, Will half on top of Rachel, both out of breath. Will decided he was wrong before, _this_ was the most beautiful he had ever seen her.

They just stared at each other, Rachel breaking the ice first.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He shook his head slightly, "I'm the one that's sorry."

She shook her head, tears in her eyes, "No, you didn't do anything wrong. It was me and my imagination and it was silly really-"

Will cut off her with a kiss. "It doesn't matter, Rach. Let's forget about it." He brushed the snow off her cheek and he just knew. He didn't want to wait any longer; he didn't want to go another second without her as his fiancé.

"I love you," he whispered. She smiled at him and reached up to kiss him.

When they pulled apart, Will simply asked, "Marry me?"

Slightly stunned, she wasn't sure she heard him correctly. He smiled down at her, brushing her hair off her face before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a ring box. Rachel gasped.

"I was going to wait until I found the perfect time this week but this … this moment here, with you and the snow, it feels perfect."

She gave him a watery smile, nodding slightly before whispering, "Yes."

His smile widened before he leaned down, kissing her again. After a couple of minutes, he sat up pulling her with him. She reached up to wipe the tears out of her eyes while he took the ring out of the box, slipping it on her finger.

She looked down at the ring, finally realizing that he was here to stay. That he truly loved her, even with her insecurities and diva-moments. She placed her tiny hand on his cheek, "I love you, Will."

He kissed her a final time, pulling her to her feet. He put an arm around her, pulling her close. "Come on, let's go home."

They walked back to the car, Rachel smiling when she saw the Kit Kat. They dusted the snow off and got in the car. Rachel opened the candy, breaking it in half and handing it to Will. Content, Will pulled out of the rest area, starting again on their journey to Ohio. They spent the rest of the drive talking and laughing and singing, just how it was supposed to be all along.

FIN

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***Please Review! And thank you for reading!***


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